The present disclosure generally relates to vehicle seats and seating arrangements, and more particularly to a vehicle seating arrangement adapted for use in connection with vehicles having an increased cargo and/or passenger carrying capacity, such as station wagons, sport utility vehicles, vans and the like.
It is increasingly desirable that a vehicle be capable of accommodating varying requirements, such as cargo carrying, occupant comfort and the like. It is well known in the art to provide folding seat backs to allow access to the cargo storage area through the opening in the partition between the passenger area and the cargo storage area of a vehicle (e.g., in sedans or coupes having a trunk compartment). It is also known to provide folding seat backs to allow access to areas behind a vehicle seat such as for a second and third row seat (e.g., in a sport utility vehicle or minivan).
Articulation of a seatback enables a vehicle interior to be configurable for accommodating various cargo-carrying needs and to provide improved occupant comfort. Latching mechanisms are often used to selectively anchor a seatback to a stationary striker attached to the vehicle body, thereby securing the seatback to a vehicle structure in an upright, or designed seating position. The seat back can also include a recliner pivot located between the seat back and seat base. The seatback can also be folded to provide access.
Many conventional latching mechanisms suffer from the disadvantage that they only allow for the seatback to be latched in a single position, thereby hampering occupant comfort. Other conventional seating systems that have a range of adjustment for a seatback relative a seat bottom employ a plurality of strikers. In this system, the latch mechanism is typically required to have a relatively large body to accommodate each striker passing through the body of the latch mechanism as the mechanism is moved between each individual striker. Further, prior art seating systems are sometimes difficult to manufacture due to complex parts and/or configurations which can increase costs.